He said: “People need to see the extent of the damage. It is difficult to quantify the scale of the destruction.

“Masonry and rubble have been blown off seafront buildings and on to the roads and tonnes of grit have been blown on to the promenade from the beach.”

Hotels and businesses have been the worst affected in Aberystwyth with basements flooded, but elsewhere in Ceredigion residential properties suffered most, with people in Borth, Aberaeron and Cardigan still waiting to return to their homes after Friday’s floods.

“It will take of lot of money to repair the damage and only a fool would think that could be paid for by the (Ceredigion) council flood relief fund.

“Ultimately the response is a matter for the Welsh Government but I would support the Westminster Government providing any additional resources.”

Mr Williams said he would seek to ensure any additional money spent on flood affected communities in England, such as Devon, would be passed on to Wales through “Barnett (Formula) consequentials”.

He said: “We need a coordinated response from MPs, AMs, councillors, emergency services and the insurance industry to carry out the repairs and ensure that those homes, businesses and communities get the support they need.”

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Ceredigion council leader Ellen ap Gwynn has praised the public for how it has responded to the flooding.

She said: “We've seen a real sense of togetherness here in Aberystwyth and in other affected communities around the county, with people volunteering and many offers of accommodation and help coming in over the past few days.

“Although there's a lot of work to do yet as we recover from this, the initial effective response was based on partnership working, and I'd like to extend my thanks to the council staff and all our partners who have worked so hard, without forgetting the immense contribution made by the communities.”

Natural Resources Wales said its staff had been working flat out to assess, and where necessary, repair damage to coastal sea defences.

A spokesman said: “This has been the worst storm to hit the west Wales coastline in 15 years. On Sunday alone we issued 23,000 flood alerts.”

The pounding which Aberystwyth has received has been caused by high tides combined with strong winds and the direction of the winds.

A NRW spokesman said: “The tide (on Friday) was one metre higher than it should have been and that is what has caused so much damage on the prom."

In response to the wider damage across Cardigan Bay and the North Wales coast, Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM said: “I welcome Welsh Government Minister Alun Davies’ decision to ask Natural Resources Wales to carry out a review of damage to coastal flood defences.

"It is vital that the repair work is made a priority, in what has been a very hard and upsetting time for many people. It’s clear from recent events that long-term steps must be taken to ensure that our coastlines are better prepared to survive the difficult consequences of climate change.”